Giving a right response to the unprovoked attacks carried out by Pakistan, Arun Jaitley warned the neighbor of dire economic consequences. He has taken the matters of Pakistan’s daredevilry in his own hands now.
The defence minister Arun Jaitley is back from the hospital after his post-surgery care and he has taken the matters of Pakistan’s daredevilry in his own hands now.
Giving a right response to the unprovoked attacks carried out by Pakistan, Jaitley warned the neighbor of dire economic consequences. “If Pakistan persists with this adventurism, our forces will make the cost of this adventurism unaffordable,” he told reporters.
Agencies reported that Jaitly hit out at Pakistan for its aggression. “Our forces have been doing a commendable job in the face of these unprovoked acts of aggression by Pakistan. Pakistan in these attacks has clearly been the aggressor but it must realise that our deterrence will be credible,” he said.
“There have been a series of ceasefire violations all unprovoked by Pakistan. These have mostly been on the international border and some have been at the line of control also. The international border has never been an issue at all and most of these violations are occurring at the IB. India is a responsible state. It is never an aggressor but at the same time, it has a paramount duty to defend its people and its territory,” he further added.
The defence minister linked the continuous firing from the Pakistani side to infiltrations at the border. He said the firing by Pakistani troops was a “cover to enable infiltration by Pakistan-based militants” into the Indian side.
He said Indian troops had killed a large number of “infiltrators” from Pakistan after the recent floods in Indian Kashmir – “there is a connection between the firing and infiltration”. When asked about the timing of the recent hostilities, Jaitley said: “Why now? This question should be asked across the border, not me.”
Jaitley gave a clear brief to the armed forces to retaliate with full force to Pakistan’s aggression. He told reporters that our armed forces, particularly the army and the BSF in this case, “have only one option that is to respond adequately, defend our territory and our people.”
It should be noted that the death toll in the country has risen to 12 and Pakistan Rangers shelled almost the entire 192-km border during the night on Wednesday. Nearly 18,000 people have been displaced following one of the worst violations of the 2003 ceasefire by Pakistan. But the unofficial figure pegs the number at 30,000.
India has even told UN that the country is completely prepared to respond to the provocation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while attending the Air Force Day parade, assured the nation that “everything will be fine soon”.
Also, the Economic Times has reported that the retaliatory fire from the Indian side had inflicted massive damage on the other side of the border, and as per latest reports, over a dozen casualties have been reported.
The problem with Pakistan is that it is controlled by the army even when it has an elected democratic government at Islamabad. The army is the hero in Pakistan and it would not let this status go away from the hand. That is why it keeps projecting India as a Hindu nation.
This dispute and “adventurism” is not going to stop soon. Jaitley’s strategy might well stop them for long term.
